Pros:Sharp knives; Durable; Lifetime warranty; Great appearance

Cons:Not diswasher safe

The Bottom Line: This is a very good knife set, but the pieces must be washed by hand.

Every kitchen needs a good set of knives and other cutting accessories. Manufacturers offer many of these knife sets and they vary mainly by the number of pieces offered and the durability and sharpness of the cutting utensils. One knife set that scores well on both counts is the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set, Model CA4CSS14B. Let's take a closer look at this Cuisinart product.

Knife Set Facts:

The Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set consists of knives and other cutting utensils. The blades of the knives are made from high carbon stainless steel. The handles on the knives are made from stainless steel and are ergonomically designed, for greater comfort.

Included in this set are six steak knives, 8 inch chef's knife, 8 inch slicer, 7 inch santoku, 5.5 inch serrated utility knife, 3.5 inch parer, kitchen shears, a knife sharpener, and a knife block that is black in color with stainless steel accents. The bottom part of the knife block (containing the six steak knives) can be removed from the rest of the block, creating two separate blocks. The knives have a lifetime warranty.

Final Thoughts:

A good knife set makes a kitchen complete and I have owned several sets of knives in the past twenty years. Most of my knife sets have been basic in design, with only about ten knives and a small wood block. My attempt to revise and update our kitchen is what led me to purchase the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set. This set has a more professional look and more knives than my past knife sets. It seemed like a good choice for a kitchen face- lift, and it looks very nice sitting on the counter, close to the stove.

The Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set is a good all around knife set with enough cutting utensils to satisfy the needs of most cooks, amateur and upward. What attracted me to this set wasn't just the Cuisinart name. What grabbed my attention at first was the black block and stainless steel accents. With my recent updates to my kitchen, I have been making it a point to change everything to black or stainless steel. This Cuisinart knife set has nothing but black and stainless steel colors, so it matches very nicely.

Appearance is important, but performance is what really matters with any knife set. Looking at the knives in the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set, one can quickly see that they are very durable in construction. Both the handle and blade are made from stainless steel, making them unbreakable. It is very difficult to even bend one of these knives. Taking one of the smaller knives and trying to bend it, the blade barely budges, which is further proof of the knives' durability.

Sharpness is another important quality with a set of knives and the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set does, indeed, include some sharp cutting utensils. It should be noted that only one of the knives has a serrated blade. The others have a smooth, straight blade, but the cutting ability is still very good. With the sharpness at this level, it takes very little effort to slice through even the toughest meats and other foods. There is even a knife sharpener, to ensure that your knives remain as sharp as possible.

Because these knifes are sharp, they need to be kept away from youngsters. This should be obvious, but it is a fact that needs to be stressed more with this set than with other knife sets. The reason I say this is because the steak knives in this set look very much like an ordinary butter knife. They do not have serrated blades and other than the pointed tip, they look exactly like a regular butter knife. If a young person mistakes one of these knives for a butter knife, a serious cut could result. This is why we keep the knives pushed back against the counter wall, beyond the grasp of our two little girls.

I like the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set very much, but there is one fact that could make them unacceptable to some consumers: The knives are not dishwasher safe. Yes, it's back to cleaning the old fashioned way with these Cuisinart knives. Not only is this inconvenient, but because of the sharpness, one has to be very careful. One slip of the sponge and you could easily slice your fingers or hand.

Overall, the Cuisinart 14- Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set is a very nice knife set with great durability, great sharpness, and a very attractive design that looks very nice in a kitchen full of stainless steel and/or black appliances. Having to hand- wash these knives is certainly a drawback, but this is still a very good knife set with plenty to offer at (for Cuisinart) a fair price.